New Delhi: President Pratibha Patil yesterday regretted strongly the lack of satisfactory laws to deal with the problem of child labour.

At a function to honor school teachers for commendable service, Ms. Patil said, “I feel deeply for those unfortunate children who are working in fields, factories, shops, streets to earn their livelihood or to support their families.”

“The country is determined to wipe out the curse of child labour. Only laws are not adequate to solve the problem,” she added.

Concentrating on the need to look into the reasons responsible for child labour, she said, “One of the reasons could be that school education is not relevant to the needs of these children.”

She also asked teachers to do something to make the school curriculum more crucial for such children and to infuse life proficiencies together with schooling skills.

She said giving away the National Awards to a total of 366 teachers from across the country, “It is also important to prepare school children to fight social evils like child marriage, gender inequality, addiction and other social stigmas.”

The awards carry a cash prize of Rs 25,000, a silver medal and a certificate of merit.